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Wednesday, 10 December 2014

Guest Blogger ~ Lexi Ander: Keeping Faith

Holidays Traditions

Around
this time of year we all participate in traditions whether it’s an age old activity
that has been handed down year after year such as searching for the perfect
Christmas tree or baking that one special dish only made at this time of year.
My sister puts her Christmas tree up on November 1st. I like making all kinds
of candy that I can't possibly eat. (Well, except for the peanut brittle. I'll
hoard that all to myself.) One of my brothers follows our parent's holiday
traditions. I married and later converted, so we celebrate Chanukah with eight
nights of feasting. My nieces and I will sit around and talk while crocheting
scarves, hats, and gloves that we gift all the way through January.

Every
family has an activity that is special to them whether it's gorging on holiday
movies with a vat of caramel corn or volunteering at the local soup kitchen.
The list is diverse and vast. What one of your favorite holiday traditions? Can
fruitcake be a holiday tradition? I'm one of those crazy people who love
fruitcake and every year I sample as many as I can looking for the perfect
fruit cake. :)

While
writing Keeping Faith, I wanted the
Trent, Brock, and AJ to have a tradition all their own. They come from
different backgrounds. They've had varying experiences that have had an impact
on who they are and what they desire for their future. Plus, they are still
growing together, learning what it means to become a family unit.

I
probably should say, Keeping Faith is
a holiday story that isn't… well… a typical holiday story. Most of the stories
set in this time of year are cute and fun. Keeping
Faith does have some of the sweet and fuzzy moments but then it shoots down
the nail-biting road of, "Holy crap! What just happened?" Hopefully,
you'll come out on the other side with a, "Wow," and an,
"Aww". Hopefully. *grins*

Trent, Brock, and AJ are excited to spend
Christmas together in their new home but secrets and dark dealings by Trent's
estranged father interrupt their plans. Brock is kidnapped and Trent and AJ
scramble to find a way to get Brock back before it is too late.

Several months after Trent Harte was drafted into
the NFL, he, AJ Barnes, and Brock Everette are settling into their new home in
Miami. Christmas is approaching and they are excited to share another holiday
season with each other. Unbeknownst to them, William Harte, Trent's estranged
father double-crossed a deadly adversary and then disappeared. To draw William
out of hiding, Trent becomes a target. In a horrible twist of fate, the
kidnappers grab Brock instead leaving AJ and Trent scrambling to find a way get
Brock back. Detectives believe Trent is responsible, and with each passing hour
the likelihood of Brock returning home alive dwindles.

Brock traded his safety to ensure his lovers were
out of harm's way. He would do it again even knowing he'd end up captured and
restrained in a part of town that no one in their right mind would willingly
go. The kidnappers are terrifying, but Brock is a fighter, holding onto hope
with both hands. He must decide to either wait to be rescued or find a way to
escape. Stuck between the wills of a ruthless assassin and an insane mob thug,
something needs to happen soon or he'll never see Trent and AJ again.

Excerpt:

Trent puttered around the kitchen
waiting impatiently for Brock and AJ to get their butts out of bed. This was
Day One of their surprises for the holidays. On the six days counting down to
Christmas they gave each other something small, either fun or serious, but
always inexpensive. The tradition started the first year they were together in
college. With their crazy schedules and limited time, Brock was the first one
to hide gifts all over the apartment for them. Most of the presents were gag
gifts, or just plain gross, but always meant to give them a laugh or two. Not
without manners, unless Trent wanted his mother to track him down and string
him up, he hesitantly reciprocated Brock's gesture even though he was unsure
how his humor would be taken by his new lovers. He shouldn't have worried.

The first Christmas they went
their separate ways for the holidays. AJ flew to Iowa. Trent stayed with his
mother, making the obligatory day trip to his father's on Christmas day. That
year he'd left his father's in an angry huff. Instead of returning to his
mother's Trent went back home to the apartment to be alone only to discover
Brock had never left.

Initially, Trent had been angry
Brock hadn't told them he had nowhere to go, no family to visit and celebrate
with. He'd cleverly deflected questions regarding his holiday travels without
him or AJ catching on. Trent called AJ who made arrangements to fly home early
and they spent the rest of the holiday break together.

The next year he and AJ joined
Brock in the fun of leaving gifts around the apartment for each other,
beginning the tradition of six days of surprises before Christmas Day. Trent
looked forward to seeing the expressions on AJ's and Brock's faces when they
opened what he got them. The holiday seasons with his father had been cold and
sterile. His mother did her best to add warmth to the season and Trent loved
her all the more for the effort but it didn't compare to what he had here with
Brock and AJ, his real family.

Trent poured a cup of coffee,
adding some cream and sugar before he wandered into the living room. In the
corner stood a real conifer tree lending a piney scent to the room. He plugged
in the tree lights and stepped back, watching the tree flicker to life as he
sipped his coffee.

Brock had overruled them on what
they would be decorating with. The theme was heavily the NFL Dolphins' team
colors mixed with other homemade ornaments sent to them by AJ's sister, Susan.
Strangely, Brock had latched on to them like they were made of gold. Trent
sometimes wondered if Brock's love for the holiday came from the lack of
holiday spirit as he grew up in foster care or because he remembered the
holidays with his family before the tragedy.

The floorboards upstairs creaked
and Trent's heart sped up with his rising excitement. He gulped his coffee too
fast, scalding his tongue when Brock somehow skidded down the last four steps
of the stairs, closely followed by AJ. Both were shirtless, wearing only PJ
pants.

"Good morning, Trent,"
Brock said absently, not glancing at him but his gaze slowly travelled around
the room, searching.

Trent smirked into his cup. AJ
followed Brock into the room, looking behind and under things. There were like
a couple of kids on an Easter egg hunt. Once the living room had been
thoroughly searched, both AJ and Brock glanced back up the stairs at the same
time, making Trent laugh aloud.

About Lexi:

Lexi
has always been an avid reader, and at a young age started reading (secretly)
her mother’s romances (the ones she was told not to touch). She was the only
teenager she knew of who would be grounded from reading. Later, with a pencil
and a note book, she wrote her own stories and shared them with friends because
she loved to see their reactions. A Texas transplant, Lexi now kicks her boots
up in the Midwest with her Yankee husband and her eighty-pound puppies named
after vacuum cleaners.